110 STAT. 1604 PUBLIC LAW 104-180—AUG. 6, 1996 "(z) EQUITY SKIMMING PENALTY.— Whoever, as an owner, agent, or manager, or who is otherwise in custody, control, or possession of property that is security for a loan made or insured under this section willfully uses, or authorizes the use, of any part of the rents, assets, proceeds, income, or other fund derived from such property, for any purpose other than to meet actual or necessary expenses of the property, or for any other purpose not authorized by this title or the regulations adopted pursuant to this title, shall be fined not more than $250,000 or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.". (f) PRIORITIZATION OF ASSISTANCE. — Section 532 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 14901) is amended— (1) in subsection (a), by striking "The Secretary" and inserting "Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c), the Secretary^'; and (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection: "(c) PRIORITIZATION OF SECTION 515 HOUSING ASSISTANCE.— "(1) IN GENERAL. —The Secretary shall make assistance under section 515 available pursuant to an objective procedure established by the Secretary, under which the Secretary shall identify counties and communities having the greatest need for such assistance and designate such counties and communities to receive such assistance. "(2) OBJECTIVE MEASURES.—The Secretary shall use the following objective measures to determine the need for rental housing assistance under paragraph (1): "(A) The incidence of poverty. "(B) The lack of affordable housing and the existence of substandard housing. "(C) The lack of mortgage credit. "(D) The rural characteristics of the location. "(E) Other factors as determined by the Secretary, demonstrating the need for affordable housing. "(3) INFORMATION.— In administering this subsection, the Secretary shall use information from the most recent decennial census of the United States, relevant comprehensive affordable housing strategies under section 105 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, and other reliable sources obtained by the Secretary which demonstrate the need for affordable housing in rural areas. " (4) DESIGNATION. —^A designation under this subsection shall not be effective for a period of more than 3 years, but may be renewed by the Secretary in accordance with the procedure set forth in this subsection. The Secretary shall take such other reasonable actions as the Secretary considers to be appropriate to notify the public of such designations.". 5 USC 5597 note. SEC. 735. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE VOLUNTARY SEPARA- TION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.— (a) DEFINITIONS.— For the purposes of this section— (1) the term "agency" means the Department of Agriculture; (2) the term "employee" means an employee (as defined by section 2105 of title 5, United States Code) who is employed by the agency (or an individual employed by a county committee established under section 8(b)(5) of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C. 590h(b)(5))), is serving under an appointment without time limitation, and has been currently
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